Planning commission approves Seward’s Landing PUD amendments, clears Sprouts site plan

The Town of Smyrna Municipal Planning Commission on Aug. 7 approved amendments to the Seward’s Landing planned-unit development that convert planned for-sale condominiums to rental apartments, add residential units and advance a site plan for a 23,300-square-foot Sprouts Farmers Market.

The changes approved by the commission include replacing 75 for-sale condominiums with 268 rental units, incorporating roughly 3 acres formerly zoned C-2 into the PUD, and an increase in on-site residential units. Planning staff said the amended PUD will still meet parking and density requirements and that preliminary plats and site plans for individual buildings will return for review.

Commissioners and staff emphasized why the applicant proposed the conversion from condos to apartments: market interest and the loss of a larger grocery anchor early in design forced a reconfiguration of square footage. The developer saidHy‑Vee withdrew, shrinking a planned 97,000-square-foot anchor to a 23,000-square-foot Sprouts lease, and the team redesigned the project in response. Developer Landeli, who identified himself as the Seward’s Landing developer, told the commission, “we went from 1.3 acres of green space in the original plan to now over 6 acres of green space,” and said the change was part of negotiations with staff to exchange added density for more publicly accessible open space, including a two‑acre pocket park and a 1.4‑acre amphitheater.

Kevin, planning staff, told the commission the PUD amendment seeks to keep the overall development’s character while adding amenities; he noted Fire Department comments on auto‑turn and building height will be handled at site plan review. “They have agreed to meet all those requirements,” Kevin said of the applicants’ responses to fire‑department comments. Staff also recommended that standalone nonresidential buildings continue to meet the town’s design‑review standard of a minimum percentage of brick, stone and glazed materials.

Developer and leasing representatives said several outparcels and boulevard retail buildings are mostly preleased, naming Sprouts, Wawa, Jonathan’s/restaurant tenants and local concepts such as Brew Y’all Coffee. They said interest in other outparcels increased after Sprouts signed a lease. The developer described plans for two hotels (about 240 rooms combined) near the amphitheater and said buildings along the main boulevard will be detailed to encourage pedestrian activation and café seating.

Commissioners pressed the applicant on parking, streetscape and the revised percentage of “primary” materials for nonresidential facades: staff recommended the higher masonry/brick standard remain for fully nonresidential buildings but indicated flexibility for mixed‑use and residential facades. The developer said updated elevations and additional architectural elements were provided; staff retained a condition that the Sprouts front façade meet the town’s design standard and that landscaping along major streets meet streetscape requirements.

The commission voted to approve the PUD amendments and associated preliminary materials “with staff comments.” Conditions include completion of required site‑plan details, meeting design‑review standards for nonresidential buildings (unless specific waivers are granted), and compliance with fire‑department infrastructure requirements at the time of building permit review.

What happens next: the applicant will submit detailed site plans and final plats for individual buildings and phases; staff will review those submittals against the conditions recorded in the approval. The Sprouts site plan for the grocery box advanced under the same package and was approved conditionally with outstanding landscape and front‑facade items to be resolved before permits.

Sources at the meeting emphasized the approvals did not represent final building permits; several design and engineering items will be reviewed and signed off in subsequent site‑plan and permitting steps.